The Ministry of Interior’s penal police yesterday arrested two Nigerians and one Cambodian for allegedly cheating a man out of $20,000 through a fake joint venture to print counterfeit money last year.

San Sothy, a penal police officer with the Ministry of Interior’s Penal Department, said the three suspects were Onye Caefuna, 30, Pascal Awaski, 39, both Nigerian, and Mr. Awaski’s girlfriend, Cambodian Chhaen Davy, 35.

“They are now being detained at the Ministry of Interior. They will be sent to provincial court for questioning on Wednesday,” Mr. Sothy told Khmer Times.

The penal police officer said the plaintiff, whom he did not name, met the two Nigerian suspects on Facebook and eventually agreed to a money laundering business venture which involved forging US currency.

Mr. Sothy added that the plaintiff was promised a 50 percent cut of the profits from the money-printing business pitched by the two men.

The suspects had purportedly even showed the victim the machine they would use to print the forged bills in a bid to convince him of the legitimacy of the business.

However, the plaintiff was first asked to wire $20,000 to the suspects for them to purchase the ink needed to print the fake money.

The plaintiff, however, was unable to contact the Nigerian pair after sending them the money and eventually filed a complaint with the Ministry of Interior.